Project update, What I’ve been working on

August 30, 2012 By Filed Under: cabinets, DIY, kitchen, projects, upper cabinets

The upper cabinet project continues but I’ve taken it just about as far as I am willing to do as a DIY project. The doors are being ordered online and I’ll share that link later. A carpenter is coming to look at the job and give me an estimate for trimming it all out and adding trim on the opposite wall to make it look built in. Something like this,

 

On the wall opposite the sink in my kitchen there’s the refrigerator, microwave, a row of deep shelves where I store cookbooks etc. and a pantry with bifold doors. I really want to get rid of those doors. I posted about this before with a little glimpse of what I’m trying to achieve.

Meanwhile, I started a new project, which I thought would be quick and easy.

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Boy was I wrong!

oak table base

This is the base of 25 year old oak table. I’m showing it to you so you can see how light the finish was. I really wanted the top of the table to be darker and the base painted.

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These are the leaves propped up so you can see how dark they are now compared to the base.

dark stain oak

Here’s the table top after a full day of sanding off my mess! I used a product that was stain and poly in one and totally screwed up, all because I didn’t read the directions. I thought you used it like any other stain and left it on the surface to make the wood darker. It got all gunky and sticky like gum when I tried to wipe it off! UGH! So I scraped and sanded and sanded some more until I thought I got it all off. It took all day! The next morning I thought I was good to go and start all over with a different stain, this time it was just stain, but I ended up sanding more of the mess off. I think I got it now.

dark stain oak2

I just have to get some fine sand paper and go over it a little. Phew, what a project!

chalk paint table base

Here’s the table base after a coat of CeCe Caldwell chalk paint in Seattle Mist, a light taupe color.

upper cabinets

This is a shot of the upper cabinets painted. The lower cabinets will get painted with the same paint, Advance from Benjamin Moore. This paint is a latex paint that acts like an oil based paint. It went on very smooth and is self leveling so there are virtually no brush marks,

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Young House Love wrote a great post about this paint, they used it their kitchen too.

So that’s it. Now I’m looking for fabric and not having much luck. I actually had fabric that I thought I was going to you but it’s just not doing it for me anymore! smile_sad Got a good fabric source to share?

 

There’s still time to enter the Shabby Apple giveaway.

 

Thanks for visiting! Debra (((xx)))

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Trying to create Upper Cabinets in the kitchen

June 11, 2012 By Filed Under: cabinets, DIY, kitchen, upper cabinets

Creating upper cabinets is my current project. I fell in love with the look of upper cabinets and wanted to try and recreate the look in my own kitchen. The keyword here is TRY, as this is a total DIY project done by me, mostly.

 

Upper cabinets will provide me with some much needed storage space for rarely used pieces. I really love the built in microwave too.

Source: bhg.com via Bungalow on Pinterest

 

What’s not to love about this gorge kitchen? From the planked ceiling and beautiful floor to the chandelier and those swoon worthy cabinets, it’s yummy! Silvery tones, soft blues and white sure do complement each other beautifully.

Source: houzz.com via Bungalow on Pinterest

 

Even though these upper cabinets don’t have glass doors, I still love this look, especially in this very rich looking kitchen. But, eek, there’s no room for fake vines! Confused smile

 

I would never have attempted a project like this without my handy nail gun from Lowe’s. It makes a project so much easier!  This model From Campbell Hausfeld is very affordable.

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Here we go…

UPPER CABINETS - Copy

Here’s the first cabinet I put together. It’s not quite square but Bill said that’s an easy fix.

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My second attempt was much better. Smile This cabinet was square.

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Getting there! Just keepin it real so excuse the mess.

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A lot of wood filler and sanding and they will be good, I think.

upper cabinet

 

We had to get a new fridge, she’s a beauty!

kitchen wall refrigerator - Copy

On this side of the room, I’d like to add molding and try to create a custom built in look.

kitchen trim

Something like this but with different pantry doors and the look of a built in microwave. Can you see my vision?

For beautiful kitchen inspirations check out my Pinterest board.

I’ll be working on this all week and then start to think about how to put together the doors. That’s the scary part. If I can’t figure it out I might have them made.

Can you recommend a good creamy white for kitchen cabinets? I’ll be looking for paint soon.

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So that’s my latest project, but I move so slowly doing stuff like this and the weather getting so hot and humid might slow me down even more. The chairs for the family room are ready to be picked up from the slipcover angel and that room is ready for accessories! Finally. We added some new pieces to the patio so come back on Wednesday for that.

 

Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))

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